The Nightmare
by Concetta
Summary: Shampoo has a nightmare of Mousse being killed . . .


This is my first Ranma 1/2 fan fic. This is a one-shot, 'cause I got so many fan fictions to complete on this site! And I being lazy about them! My muse ditched me on those stories! SORRY! I'll try to finish them! PERDONILO! (Italian for FORGIVE ME!!) Hopefully you won't get too annoyed with the inserted Chinese (Mandarin) I took it my senior year in high school because I fell in love with the language! And I still love it! Italian, being my natural first love (being half Italian) is still close to my heart, but I noticed they are both very musical languages. My lao shi, my teacher, described Chinese as a song. You concentrate on the notes (you know, the tones) But, it's really not hard, the tones, anyway, because if you just listen (that's the key to learning Chinese) you naturally start to associate that tone with that word when you come across that character. Okay! Anyway, on we go! Pronunciation and translation will be at the bottom of the page. I good song to listen to while reading this would be "Promise" by Coco Lee, the Chinese version (which is the only version I've heard, but there's probably a English version out there, unless it's originally an English song . . . I don't know . . .) If there are any Chinese people reading this, please correct me if I'm wrong on the choice of words . . I'm a freshman in college now, so It's been a while since that class. -When they're talking in Mandarin and I don't know how to write it.

The Nightmare

Mousse lay motionless on the ground. A cold fear slipped into Shampoo's heart.

"Mousse? Mousse!" She knelt next to his prostrate form and gently prodded him. He did not stir. "Zhe shi bu hao . . ." she murmured looking over Mousse's broken body. "Stupid Mousse, why you move in front of me? So enemy blast no hurt me? Feh, it no hurt Shampoo!" _Not now_ . . . she thought guiltily. A tear slid down her cheek and plopped onto Mousse's. He groaned.

"Xian-Pu?"

"Mousse!" The Chinese amazon propped up the boy's head so it rested in her lap. She sobbed with relief.

"Xian-Pu?" Mousse's voice was weak and his breathing ragged.

"Wo zai na-er," Shampoo answered, another tear slipping out of her eye.

"Wo ai ni, Xian-Pu . . ."

Shampoo choked back a sob. She sensed his spirit fading. "Wo zhi dao . . ."

Mousse sighed and his body began to relax.

"Mousse, stay!"

"Wo ai ni . . ."

"Mu-tsu?"

He did not respond. Shampoo sobs became wails as she clutched his lifeless body to her chest.

" . . . Mu-Tsu . . . wo de ai ren!"

"MU-TSU!"

Shampoo's eyes snapped open. She found herself sitting upright in bed, covered in a cold sweat.

"A dream . . .?"

Suddenly she heard the pounding of heavy footfalls in the corridor beyond bedroom. The door burst open and in ran Mousse. His long black hair was disheveled and his bare, muscular chest was exposed through the section of his unfastened robe, which he obviously had just thrown on. It was a black robe and he was also wearing black sweatpants.

"Shampoo! What's wrong?"

"Shampoo have bad dream . . ." she replied trying to sound as unflustered as possible. "Why you come?"

"I heard you call for me."

Shampoo stopped short and tried to hide the embarrassed blush that rose to her cheeks. "Stupid Mousse!" she mumbled.

"Shampoo?"

The girl bowed her head, trying to hide her red cheeks.

"Xian-Pu?"

The amazon looked up and her breath caught, making her swallow. Mousse was kneeling next to her bed, his face only inches away from hers. But, that was not the only thing that sent the thrill through her. It was the close proximity of his intensely affectionate eyes.

"Shampoo need space!" she yelled and shoved him away. Mousse yelped in surprise and stumbling back he fell to the floor. His sprawled out form reminded Shampoo of her dream and her heart shivered at the memory.

"Very well, Shampoo," Mousse got up and moved towards the door.

"Mu-Tsu . . ."

Mousse stopped short. She hadn't called him by his Chinese name since . . . well . . . China. Before the man could turn around he felt a pair of small, but incredibly strong arms, wrap around his waist.

Mousse's heart leapt into his throat his pulse pounded in his ears.

"Xian-Pu . . ."

Shampoo could feel his chest spasm as his breath caught.

"Dui bu qi . . . please stay." Shampoo began to weep into the back of his jacket. Mousse gasped and turned around in her grasp.

"Are you okay?"

"Wo bu zhi dao . . ."

Mousse, knowing very well he was taking his life into his own hands, dared to scoop Shampoo up and carry her back to bed.

Surprisingly, Shampoo did not strike him or protest in any way. Mousse saw this as an encouraging sign. Instead of putting her down the bed, he kept her in his arms and sat down on the bed. Shampoo continued to sob. Mousse slowly began to rock her back and forth and whispered soothing words to her as he cradled her. Then he remembered. She had been dreaming, she had said. She had called out his name in a dream. Why? What had she been dreaming about? Mousse pushed out the suggestive thoughts that entered his mind with a wry grin. She had said it had been a bad dream so it could not have been that . . . at least he hoped it could not have been that. (blush) (that's so bad of me to write!)

"Xian-Pu, are you ready to tell me about your dream?"

Shampoo sniffed and looked up at her childhood friend. She had already noticed her position and found herself not having any negative feelings about it, in fact . . . Shampoo shook the thoughts out of her head. What would great-grandmother say?

"Hao le ma?" he asked again.

". . . Hao le," She said finally.

Shampoo began telling it slowly, waiting for his reactions. Surprisingly, Mousse kept his face blank, although his body did not stay so still. She felt it stiffen every now and then.

Shampoo hated this. She hated the fact that he was witnessing her being so vulnerable . . . so unlike everything an amazon woman should be. If she had had the will at the moment to send him away she would have.

Shampoo shivered when she felt Mousse's hand tentatively stroke her hair. She then surprised him, and not to mention herself, by snuggling up against his chest. "Zhe shi hen hao . . ." she thought. It was really nice to have a man taking care of her. it felt right, like that was how it was originally supposed to be, planned to be. And more than that it felt . . . good . . . to be with Mousse like this. Shampoo heard and felt his heart beating rapidly against her ear. She smiled.

To say that Mousse was surprised is an understatement. He was completely floored! Flabbergasted! Incredulous! Confused! Perplexed! And . . . deliriously happy.

"Mu-tsu has always been there for me . . ." Shampoo thought. She thought back to all the times when he began to propose to her and how it was always to something other than her! How mad she would get! "Mu-tsu! Where are you looking?" she'd yell, then kick him. She would get mad because she had wanted him to say those things to her! Not to the pig! He was too stubborn to wear his glasses. He hated wearing them around her. She had finally given up on him ever saying pretty things to the real her and concentrated becoming an amazon warrior. Good thing ai ren didn't wear glasses. Ranma . . . ai ren . . .

Shampoo lifted her body away from his and immediately felt the loss. She turned her head away and pushed the feeling aside. What was she doing? She was pursuing Ranma, she has to marry Ranma, she loved Ranma . . . didn't she? Her dream obviously begged to differ . . .

"Xian-pu?"

Shampoo looked up at Mousse's face and saw the familiar look of heart-break coming over his features. The look gripped her heart in a vice. She hated to see her friend sad. Yes. Friend. Her obsession with Ranma had made her forget that and only see Mousse as a nuisance and not the childhood companion that he had been.

But then, Shampoo's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden shock of feeling a pair of soft warm lips on hers. She made a surprised noise. Mousse was kissing her? How dare he! . . . how dare he . . . how . . . dare . . .

Shampoo was hit by the passion Mousse was pouring into this one-sided kiss. The love he was expressing through it was so strong that it made her heart leap. All of Mousse's proposals and overtures to her had been very childlike, his technique had not changed much since he was six, but now . . . this was no child! Oh no! These were the kisses of a man, a very, very, in love man. He was putting all his years of longing into it. Shampoo was almost overwhelmed by it all. Then, suddenly, Mousse broke it off. His breathing was heavy. Shampoo's face was extremely red from the blush that was in her cheeks.

"Dui bu qi, Xian-pu . . ." Mousse whispered and braced himself for the battering he was sure to receive.

Shampoo did not dole out the expected beating. She just sat there in shock. What was this hunger that was welling up inside her? No man had ever . . . not that she would want any man, she wanted Ranma . . . no . . . She wanted Mousse!

Mousse's new found boldness took her lack of violence as some sort of encouragement. He leaned down and began to lightly kiss her neck.

Shampoo gasped from the sensation of his lips on her neck. If anyone had ever said that this would be happening between her and Mousse, she would have assumed that that person was a lunatic and then had a good laugh over such a ridiculous suggestion.

"Please . . . kiss me back," Mousse pleaded between kisses. He was starting to sound like the old Mousse again, but this time she was not annoyed. Mousse finally straightened and looked at her.

Shampoo stared back for a moment then gently took his head in her hands and put her lips to his. Shampoo was amazed at her own fervor. So was Mousse. She was kissing him so hard that he was actually being pushed backwards onto the bed. Mu-tsu has always loved me with all his heart! She thought as she continued to kiss him into oblivion. And I . . .

Suddenly, Shampoo broke the kiss and quickly straightened. "Stupid Mousse!" she cried out.

"What?" he asked looking very confused.

"You ruin Shampoo life!"

"What!"

"Ranma no can be ai ren! STUPID MOUSSE! YOU MAKE SHAMPOO START TO FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU!"

"Y-You mean it?"

Shampoo just nodded, red-faced. "And I don't care what great-grandmother say about it!" She wrapped her arms around Mousse's neck. He happily sighed and murmured into her hair. "I love you, so very much, Xian-pu!"

Eventually, after some more kissing, the two fell asleep in each other's arms, knowing that whatever trouble the next day would bring as a result, they would grin and bear it together.

THE END

Yes, incredibly sappy, I know, but I just couldn't help myself!

Zhe shi bu hao: (juh-shrr-boo-how) This is not good.

Wo zai na-er: (Wouah-zai("ai" sounds like "I")-nar) I am here (some people say "wo zai na li")

Wo ai ni: (Wouah -ai-nee) I love you.

Wo zhi dao: (wouah-jrr-dow) I know.

Ai ren: (Ai-rooen) Beloved.

Dui bu qi: (dooeh-boo-chee) Sorry.

Wo bu zhi dao: I don't know

Hao le ma: (how-luh-mah) Ready?

Hao le: Ready.


End file.
